Toyo Cut Film Holders​for 4x5 and 8x10

Many photographers agonize over the sharpness of their lens, measuring things like lines per mm. They are endlessly testing their lenses, using USAF charts, unusual filters and something called an "optical bench". They then buy several samples of the same lens, test each one for a time, then keep the one they think is sharpest.Instead of doing that, long ago I decided to spend extra $$ on good film holders, namely Toyos. Why? They are tough, they are overbuilt, they can stand the heat and the cold, and they will give you the same sharp results every time. Reliable.I've used Fidelity, Riteway, and others, and the depth of their holders varies mot only from one holder to another, but even from one side to the other. But the Toyos are perfect, each one. I can count on getting crisply-focused, sharp images each time because the film always lies at the perfect plane, and the holders are so well-built that the film can't move once inside the holder; it always sits flat and square. If there is ever a botched sheet of film, the holders are easily removed from suspicion.Is it worth paying $190.00 for a new 8x10 Toyo holder, instead of $90.00 for a Fidelity?​Hells, yeah.

Pentax 6x7 with 105mm f2.4 lens

Often disparaged because of its size and clunky design, the Pentax 6x7 gets my vote as a great medium-format camera. Tough, no-nonsense, built to take years of studio and location abuse, it's the real deal, despite its less-than-girlish figure.​I used a Hasselblad for years, and now I wonder what I was doing all that time shooting squares when I could have been shooting rectangles. All those needlessly cropped magazine photos - oh, the humanity!Paired with a 105mm f2.4 lens, this is as close as you'll get to the look and feel of large format in a medium format camera. It's less-than-clinical look is unique to MF. Roll film is still (relatively) cheap and plentiful, and the P67 has an endless array of top-flight lenses from which to choose.Drawbacks? Oh, yes; here are but a few of them: 1/30s X-sync speed, prone to lock-ups and sudden battery death, primitive construction, and, last but not least, the infamous (and quite useless) right-hand wood grip.But if you put up with its faults, quirks and heft, you'll be rewarded with superior negs that have a 3D quality not found elsewhere in the MF world. Sure, it's a hipster totem, but it's much more than that: it's a serious camera with serious IQ.

I'll be using this space to write about some gear that I have and that I would recommend, as well as some other stuff that passes through my studio.

I'm not a reviewer or writer by any stretch, but I do like quality products that are well-built and built to last. I don't mind spending extra $$ to get long-term satisfaction out of my gear: I like to know that it can withstand hard, daily use.

Paying a premium is worth it if it makes some aspect(s) of my work easier, better, more interesting, unique, less tedious, or just more fun.